The oldest and only living steam calliope drew up in front of the Denver Post to whistle its praises of the Cole Brothers Circus. The calliope, played by Jack Crippen, is hand carved and 85 years old. 1947

To go along with the old circus photo we thought we’d include some old circus lingo found in a 1953 story by Post writer Earl Pomeroy.

Keister – Suitcase
Benny – Overcoat
Windjammers – Musicians
Kinkers – Performers
Joeys – Clowns
Lot Lice – Town loafers who didn’t purchase tickets
Butcher – Any vendor
Gilly – Originally applied to a circus that didn’t have horses to pull its equipment from train to lot. Later “gilly” came to mean a small, poor-quality show.
Opener – Spieler in front of a side show
Hooligan – Foreign-born performer